Volcarona's six wings blazed with roaring fire, and every inch of its body was consumed in brilliant flame. In that moment, it was radiant, commanding, and awe-inspiring — like a living sun come down to earth.
Waves of fire rolled across its body as though they were streams of flowing magma, and every few seconds a cluster of sparks broke free and landed on the floor with a faint hiss, curling into thin wisps of white smoke.
Even though Volcarona had pulled back a fraction of its immense power, the weight of its presence was still staggering. When those deep-blue eyes turned toward Jacob, the pressure bore down on him like the gaze of a fire deity — ancient, absolute, and completely uninterested in being challenged.
Jacob tried to hold its gaze. He tilted his head upward, forcing himself to look directly at the creature. But the firelight pouring off Volcarona's body was as blinding as staring into the sun, and after only a few seconds his eyes began to ache. He had to look away.
In that brief moment, though, he noticed something important. From this floor onward, the power restrictions that had governed every previous level were gone.
Legendary Class.
Volcarona's strength was on full display, unfiltered and unchecked. The heat rolling off its body was so intense that the air around it seemed to ripple and distort, pressing outward in shuddering waves. It was overwhelming — the sort of power that made something deep inside a person want to bow their head and step back without knowing why.
Though there was only one tier separating Legendary Class from Master-level, the gap between them was nothing short of vast — the difference between the sky and the earth, between a champion and a legend.
"Human…"
Volcarona's voice resonated through the chamber like a deep drumbeat — slow, unhurried, and full of authority. The moment it spoke, the flames across its wings flared, and scorching sparks scattered outward in every direction. Jacob instinctively shielded his eyes.
"I sense… the soul of my King… within you." A brief pause. The flames steadied slightly. "I will not bar your path to the final floor."
"My King has slumbered for far too long. Today… it shall awaken once more." The Scorching Pokémon's voice carried a note of quiet reverence, as though it were reciting something sacred. "What lies beyond is the path to the final level."
As its words faded, a spatial rift tore open in the air directly behind it. The edges of the rift shimmered with a deep, heat-warped light.
"But…" Volcarona's voice came again, heavier now. "If you wish to earn my approval… and the reward that comes with it…"
"You must accept my trial."
The moment the last word left it, a burst of orange-red fire erupted from the rift. A figure shot out — wings spread wide, feathers touched by flame, its white down glittering with embedded sparks. Deep-blue eyes caught the light as the new arrival slowed and hovered beside the elder Volcarona.
Another Volcarona.
Jacob's eyes swept over it immediately. Its wings were the same fiery orange-red, its body full and healthy — but its power reading was far lower. Quasi-Heavenly King-level, at best. And the fire across its body was unstable, surging and flickering unevenly, as though the creature hadn't yet learned to fully control the Fire-type energy coursing through it. It had the look of a Pokémon that had evolved not long ago and was still finding its footing.
Then Jacob looked closer, and his breath caught.
Master-level aptitude.
He stared for a moment.
He had never seen anything like it.
Jacob turned the thought over quickly. The answer seemed obvious: this had to be the elder Volcarona's offspring. Nothing else explained aptitude this high.
He exhaled slowly, shaking his head in quiet disbelief. The Dragon Spiral Tower Secret Realm. A first-level God's domain. Of course the Pokémon here were extraordinary. He'd already seen a Shiny Gyarados with Champion-level aptitude, a Dragonair sitting at Master level, and now a newborn Volcarona with Legendary-level talent. This place was less a dungeon and more a sanctuary of extraordinary life.
"What does the trial require?" Jacob asked, turning back to the elder.
"Defeat it," Volcarona answered, "under equal conditions." Its voice dropped to something almost conversational. "For a Trainer… this should not be difficult. You may use any Pokémon you choose. I will bring their power to the same level as my child's."
Jacob took a slow breath in, then let it out. An even-footed fight. That was manageable — more manageable, at least, than what he'd faced on the floor before. Even with Legendary-level aptitude, the younger Volcarona was still a Quasi-Heavenly King-level Pokémon operating on instinct more than experience.
The real question was which of his Pokémon to send in.
He stood quietly for a moment, weighing the options. Then the answer came to him, and the tension in his expression settled into something calm and decided.
Diancie.
It was the obvious choice once he thought it through. Volcarona was a Bug- and Fire-type — a combination that carried a four-times weakness to Rock. Diancie was a Rock- and Fairy-type. The type advantage alone would have made her a strong pick, but there was more to it than that. Volcarona's Special Defense was formidable, but its physical bulk was considerably weaker. And Diancie's signature move, Diamond Storm, was a powerful Rock-type physical attack — one that hit four times effective, received the benefit of Same-Type Attack Bonus, and targeted exactly the side of Volcarona's defenses that couldn't hold up under pressure.
One Diamond Storm might be enough. Two would certainly finish it. More than that, she could Mega Evolve.
Jacob couldn't picture a scenario where she lost.
"Diancie, I choose you!"
The Jewel Pokémon materialized on the field in a shimmer of pink light. The diamonds embedded across her body caught the firelight from Volcarona's wings and scattered it in dozens of directions, filling the space around her with glittering reflections. Though she hadn't been called upon in some time, her growth had not slowed. She had already reached Quasi-Heavenly King-level — remarkable for a Legendary Pokémon barely a year old. And if anything, her rate of growth was still accelerating.
The elder Volcarona watched the exchange. Its gaze shifted from Diancie to Jacob, brief and unreadable.
Across the field, the younger Volcarona's expression shifted the moment Diancie appeared. Its wings spread a fraction wider, the fire along their edges burning a little brighter. There was no fear in its eyes — only eagerness. It wanted to battle. It wanted to prove something to the one who had given it life.
"Begin."
"Diancie — Diamond Storm!" Jacob called out immediately.
He'd already confirmed during his observation that the younger Volcarona hadn't learned Protect or any comparable move. There was no reason to be cautious. The most efficient path was also the most direct one — have Diancie hit hard, hit again, and keep hitting until the battle was over.
No tricks. No drawn-out strategy. Just a clean, decisive advantage pressed until it ended.
I may not be able to challenge its parent, Jacob thought, watching Diancie raise her arms as crystalline shards gathered around her, but dealing with the younger one? That's well within reach.